Saving cultural resources by learning places!
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Date
2021
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Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science
Abstract
According to nationally reported citations uncovered during a recent scan of the environment, little research exists examining how a grassroots effort to offer an online course in Historic Preservation might increase service learners' competency. To address this gap, launching an intervention online and conducting research to better understand service learners' experiences with their chosen cultural resource in a community context used formative assessment technologies. The researcher used a mixed-methods design to examine how online and field experiences might support more service learners' preservation activity. For example, would authentic and robust service-learning opportunities in the online course for Historic Preservation training increase the utilization of federal preservation incentive programs? Summative assessments measuring outputs lead to a contextual comparison methodology to gauge future outcomes for more resilient communities? Results suggested that diverse participants sampled technology-focused online continuing education serving as confirmatory events for continuing education programs in Historic Preservation. The enrolled service learners' online training affords them opportunities to apply theory and content knowledge to practice and contend with issues related to technology integration, preservation project planning, and management within a hybrid of virtual online learning and chosen real-world contexts. The first two years of efforts had volunteers step up to protect and reduce their perceived problems of an endangered cultural resource. The prevention of unnecessary losses of cultural resources in rural communities required affordable online assistance modeled in this dissertation can be repeated and transferred whenever service learners volunteer to help save their cherished community's cultural resources. Based on the uniquely designed IDEALS(c) curriculum, anyone can participate in these grassroots actions through online learning of historic preservation fundamentals. Useful findings can improve the design of future modules for Historic Preservation field experiences for service learners and facilitate scaffolding the opportunities to help them better integrate technologies into their professional and volunteer experiences. The pluralistic, e-democracy, technologically aided grass-root project documented in this dissertation helped others learn how to heal some of the budget cuts of late from the federal government agencies involved in cultural resources that can reduce the number of threatened historic places caring, resilient communities.